News on Kevin Owens, Jim Ross, and Ken Shamrock

– Fightful Select reports that Kevin Owens was originally in the SmackDown script on Friday night, but couldn’t make the show, due to what WWE reps are calling a “nightmare travel situation” and had to be written out. Owens was also supposed to play a part in the December 23 SmackDown that was taped after Friday’s episode but adjustments had to be made.

– During his podcast, former WWE head of talent relations Jim Ross discussed Ken Shamrock’s run with the company during the Attitude Era…

“I always thought of Kenny as a top guy. He was hard to manage a little bit, but in the beginning, he wasn’t used to being on the road that much. So he was a great character to build. I have a lot of respect for Kenny, and tough guys – we know, God almighty – he had no problem navigating the locker room cause nobody gave him any s***.”

“But he was very underrated in my opinion in the pro wrestling world. So, we may have missed an opportunity with him, no doubt. I’m with you [Conrad]. If Ken Shamrock had become the champion, as I said I would have no problem with that. He is believable. His promos were believable because he didn’t memorize his lines. So it was some good stuff. I’m a Ken Shamrock fan, was then, still am.”

(quotes source: RingsideNews.com)